Wage and price controls are the first refuge of the governing classes in inflationary times. Price increases are first noted by the public at the grocery store and gas pump. When it becomes apparent the household budget is being stretched to its breaking point, a cry goes out: "The government must do something." The call for the government to put a lid on prices by fiat or by edict reflects a confusion of cause and effect, because the government already did do something. It inflated the supply of money and credit. As long as the public perception of inflation is that it is a natural and spontaneous phenomenon, politicians, both the crafty who know better...